monday is just not my day
by Piriluk
Summary: In which, Miku is evil, Len is famous and Rin is merely his egg sister who wants to bone him - probably. begins lenku, eventual rinlen. T for sins. hiatus bc i love to die, and i want to get wrecked. i need to edit the first chapters theyre disgusting goo
1. whut - a prologue by a very confused Rin

**PROLOGUE**

* * *

Sometimes I like to think that I was a drastic mistake.

Well, it'd make sense. To be true, only one of the babies out of a set of twins, triplets, quadruplets, whatever, would have been truly planned. A fine example of that is my brother and I—we're twins (believe it or not, I mean, not even _I_ believe it)—and our parents did the honky-plonky about 16-odd years ago thinking that only one of us would be brought into the world. But surprise! (And also, Merry Christmas!) There were two. And quite frankly I like to imagine that they only intended for Len to exist, but then I just birthed into existence to crash the party because that's obviously how twins work. Duh.

So, two little blonde cherubs. Imagine that. One freaking perfect, silent, twinkling with God's touch (ahem, Len)—then me, screaming horrifically, covered in blood and guts, etc. etc.

Screw whatever Mum says, I look like a fucking furry potato in my baby photos. (It probably explains why I am so extraordinarily hairy in terms of the puberty service, I mean—what? You didn't read that.)

Such representations we still live up to today—minus the blood/guts part (well, unless I'm on my period and—I'll stop now). I mean, Len is still a perfect, twinkling, talented, non-troublemaking child who, as a result of our parents' divorce when we were like, two, now is some freaking internationally well-known idol slash pop star at the ripe young age of 16, because my dad is the trash of the century and happens to be the head of Kagamine Records Co. and pretty much forced my brother into the pop star lifestyle as soon as he found out he could sing.

And me. Well, I live with Mum. And I go to school. And anything fantastic I have ever achieved was scoring the role of Tinkerbell in my primary school's musical—except, I got a virus that afternoon which caused me to projectile vomit uncontrollably and dangerously enough to land me into hospital for a week—and some other kid had to take my role and all chance of me ever achieving anything great was washed down the drain with an anxiety disorder and a severe case of emetophobia.

I am what you would label an, 'unfortunate result of great mishaps and disappointments'.

Yeah. That's me. Rin Kagamine. Or, otherwise known as Rin Yamagawa, because if I went around as Rin Kagamine I probably wouldn't have a normal, peaceful life, which is what my mother wants for me. (She thinks the idol life is ludicrous and controlling, and only wants me to get a good education, make friends, and live the life of every other middle-class teenage girl, blah, blah, blah—coming from her, a retired runway model.)

I don't mind her contribution, though, I'd much rather my privacy. If I went as Rin Kagamine from day one my venture to the hospital when I was 12 would've probably been all over the news, and I probably wouldn't have any true friends—only people who'd be interested in me for my brother.

Plus, 'idol life' makes you some big-headed nong, which isn't what I crave in life, really. Not that I've really gotten to know Len, besides the very brief and awkward phone conversations we might have once a year or whatever, but he seems like the type to roll his eyes about whenever someone mentions me, because I'm his mangy, grossly untalented twin sister. I would probably, too, be really disappointed in my sibling if I was a successful singer and they were getting nowhere with their life.

But… yeah. I guess it's sad in some ways. My mum gets really weird about me ever having to congregate with Dad or Len in real life, it's like she thinks they're going to kidnap me and turn me into a desu-desu kawaii aidoru-chan. (I doubt that would happen, because a) anxiety, b) I look like I've been hit by a truck. Multiple times. At 120km/h. and c) I'm completely untalented and would have to douse myself in tons of auto-tune before I actually sound… decent.)

So I've never really properly met Len or Dad. I'm not fazed about Dad because he sounds like the most personality-lacking human being in existence (since he practically pushed Len into the music industry ASAP for the sake of attention and the dosh), but I feel like I should at least know my very own brother's favourite colour or food without having to look it up in a magazine interview. I'm pretty sure my best friend Miki knows more about Len then I do. It's… well, pathetic, really.

Then again, Len knows absolutely nothing about me (let alone, probably only remembers I exist when it's our birthday), and can't exactly Google it to find out. I wonder if he actually knows _anything_ about me. Just anything, besides the fact that I look sort of like him and that we share the same birthdate. I mean, I'm curious.

I guess I've kind of gotten to the stage where I could just care less, I suppose. Yeah, I think about it sometimes, but… meh. It got to me mostly when I was 13, 14, in the heart of self-loathing and puberty; when Len was all everyone talked about—just standing there and not actually being able to personally _know_ my brother, while television hosts could? It sucked. In a way, I was (cough, am) jealous of him. I wanted to be up there too. I wanted to know why everyone else found him so amazing, when all I could see was a brother I was estranged from before I could even get to know him.

It annoyed me how Mum acted about these things, you know, she hates Dad for every reason and more and doesn't want me to even speak to him. She would only let Len and I talk over the phone—no playdates, nothing, ever. (And it's too late now to really plan anything myself with Len, he's always busy and—it'd just be, I dunno, awkward.) In a way I feel like she hates Len, too, because he's with Dad and all—but, she let Dad take him when they split, which is what I don't understand—she can't hate Len for how his life has turned out because of Dad. She hasn't even given him a chance.

Family. It annoys me. (_So_ much, ugh.) I don't even feel like getting married. Or spawning. Or anything romantic. It pains me thinking about having the same outcome as my parents. Bleh.

.

.

.

"Ms Yamagawa," the teacher calls to me, and I lift my head from my hand like a deer under headlights, thinking she was going to chastise me for accidentally drifting off to sleep during her hour-long lecture about triangles. "You've been called up to the office." I note she's holding the classroom phone in one hand. Sheesh, that was close. I nod, blinking myself back to reality, and she turns away. "She's coming down now. Thanks."

I go to pack up my things, nervous under the spotlight of everyone's gazes, but the teacher interrupts. "Leave your stuff there, they said. You just have a message you need to collect." I nod hastily, shuffling to the door, wondering why I've been called to the office anyway. I'm not in trouble or anything, am I?

Before I step outside, the teacher grabs my sleeve and leans in close, stating in a stern tone, "No more sleeping in my class, Yamagawa. I'll let it slide this time because you're not usually a tardy student, but if I catch you again it's a detention."

"Y-yes," I choke out, and skedaddle from the classroom to save myself from further embarrassment.

The office is on the opposite side of the school, essentially. Which brings me back to the previous question—why in the world is there a message for me at the office? Did a relative die? Did I forget my lunch? (I didn't.) Did that chainmail email I sent a few years ago finally come back to bite me on the butt for being so gullible? (Please don't, I'm even more embarrassed thinking about it.)

I reach the snazzy glass doors (that don't match the glum hallways of the rest of the school) to the office and step inside. It always smells pleasant in here. The lady at the desk looks up and gives me a well-practiced smile. "Are you Rin Yamagawa?"

"Yes," I say, moving forward. She shuffles around in her papers and hands a slip to me with a mobile number scrawled across it.

"Your aunt called just before saying to ring her as soon as possible in your lunch break, it's very important," she states.

I take the slip and glance at the number. It must be hers. (I don't have a phone to call her on, though.) "Why couldn't she just say the message over the phone now?" I ask aloud unintentionally, and the receptionist blinks back vacantly. I clear my throat, uncomfortable. "Can I borrow one of the phones at school? Mine broke the other day so I don't have anything to reach her on." (And I doubt Miki would share, the stingy thing.)

The lady nods. "You can use the one upstairs at student reception."

"Oh, okay, thanks," I say. She smiles at me once again, pleasant, and I go back to class, not very keen on having to look the teacher in the eye again.

.

.

.

I meet Miki at her desk to break the news to her.

"So your aunt called just to say that?" she says, frowning into her bag as she fishes out her lunchbox.

"Yep."

Miki sighs. "Your family is so weird, Rin."

Oh, believe me, I know. My aunt, Miriam, who is my mum's older sister, resembles somewhat an impatient old lady. I mean, she's old, but not like, grandma-old, so. She's not really maternal, to be true, and could give less than two fricks about me (unless she has to call the school for some weird reason, meaning something has happened to Mum—nothing too bad, I hope). She and Mum have a love-hate relationship; Miriam's a prim and proper lawyer, Mum's more arty and carefree, so they tend to clash a lot.

Miki knows about the whole bizarre divorced family thing, too, but she thinks my dad is just some mysterious, attractive, successful businessman and doesn't know any further. We've been good friends for years but I don't want to tell her that I'm really the sister of Len and the daughter of Kagamine Media Co.'s CEO, because I just don't want her to go all funky on me. I mean, she has a mad obsession over Len; I'm not joking, her room is plastered in his merchandise (and it's really, very creepy to have sleepovers in a room with your brother's face in every nook and cranny, watching you). If I told her the truth, she might… Ugh. I don't even want to _think_ about it.

I leave Miki to pig out on her lunch and venture down to the student reception, hoping I don't have to pay anything to call Miriam. Once I find out the cost is free, I stand in the slightly-lengthy line of other students queueing to use the phone. (Why me?)

It takes a decent 15 minutes until I get my go. (Goodbye to my one and only lunchtime—ugh.) I dial Miriam's number and hold the phone up to my ear, kind of grossed out over the thought of how many times this phone has touched other kids faces, and anxious to hear what she has to say.

"Rin?" she snaps. She's always snapping, even when she's in a supposedly good mood.

"That's my name," I answer monotonously. Don't get me wrong, I love Aunt Miriam, but she's the last person I want to waste my lunchtime for.

"About time you called!" she exclaims. "It took you so long. I said _ASAP_, it's important, Rin."

I sigh tiredly. "My phone is broken so I had to line up and wait to use the school phone. Sorry. What's wrong?"

Aunt Miriam clicks her tongue, unimpressed by my excuse. "Your mother is in hospital," she states.

My stomach drops. "…Why?"

"At work this morning she passed out. Turns out she'd overdosed on some of her medication—purposely, for the matter, and she's had to get her stomach pumped. She's not in a good way, Rin, mentally and physically."

Suddenly, lunch doesn't really matter anymore. My stomach churns, disliking the bad news. Miriam isn't good at breaking news, unfortunately. She's pretty emotionless when she does it. "Why?" I ask really quietly, leaning up against the wall to stop myself from falling over.

"It seems her depression has gotten bad again," she answers. "Too much work and stress."

I feel tight in the chest. "I didn't even notice anything…" I murmur, more to myself if anything. I hardly see her due to her job, and in turn couldn't check up with her own mental wellbeing. I feel guilty.

"Yes, well, she'll be in hospital for a while until she's well enough to function without trying to commit suicide; they'll be upping her meds and asking her to leave her current job," Miriam says. "Which is why I asked you to call me. I have more news to discuss with you."

I notice the person in the line after me shift, grunting peevishly. "Well, it'll have to be quick because I'm holding up the queue," I mumble.

"I'm going to have to take care of your mother until she can find a less demanding job, and that might require you two having to move out of your current apartment because she can't afford it unemployed," she informs.

I notice the lack of inclusion in her having to take care of _me_. "And?" I expect more to come.

She sighs exasperatedly. "We need to find you a place to stay because I can't afford nor fit a third person into my apartment, either," she tells me. "Therefore, I have made contact with your father, asking if you could stay with him or one of his family members temporarily until everything is under control."

"Youdid_what_," I exhale.

"I called. _Your_ father. Because he is your other legal guardian. And requested him to sort you out. And he said he would _gladly_ take you into his 'humble abode' until your mother is stable again."

Now, I feel like I'm not even awake. I pinch myself just to make sure this is happening. (It is.) "What did Mum say? Have you told her?"

"No," Miriam responds sharply. "I won't tell her until later. You know how she gets about your father, and right now is just not the time."

The person behind me clears their throat. "Um, well, okay. Can I call you when I get home from school to talk more about this? I have to hang up now."

"Well, Rin, I -"

"I'm sorry, I _really_ have to go. I'll talk to you then. Bye-bye." Then I hang up.

I scream silently into my arm as I walk back to my classroom. I'm not even sure what I should think about at this point of time.

Stay with Dad? Hell must surely be freezing over.

* * *

oops. here I go again. I should be in bed (it's 1AM and if my parents catch me they'll slice me like sashimi) sooooooOOOOOo

I am a very sorry flower for being so dumb and doing a do when I can't even handle the other dos. forgive me. and I am doing a worst do. help me.

(yepppp it is? hopefully? I mean what? incestuous. I just... got inspiration. nhgn. I need to write more stories from Len's POV tho.)

DING DONG DING DONG GOODNIGHT PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW TELLING ME I'M DIRTEE AND THAT I SHOULD SHUT. tenk.


	2. Chapter oNE - HOW TO FREAK OUT BY RIN

**1**

I run from school all the way home in order to clear my mind from today's horrific events. Stay with Dad? Stay with _DAD?_ BE RELATED TO THAT OTHER SIDE OF THE FAMILY? Sure, 12-year-old me is now getting her wishes granted, _but now that I think about it, _I'd rather be homeless.

I mean, it's risky. Really risky. Mum will be ready to murder when she hears about it. I'll have to do the full on sneak-around-in-alleyways-and-put-on-a-moustache-for-disguise thing. Heck, I've never even had a full conversation with Dad. Or Len. Or anyone.

Miki tried to offer advice for when I was freaking out in the last 10 minutes of lunch break, but her advice wasn't the least bit helpful because she only knows about a quarter of the true story (the rest are lies). That also made me extremely concerned. If I do happen to stay with Dad, what will I have to tell her? It'll probably be even harder to keep my secret. (Jeez, I'm starting to sound like Hannah Montana. But I don't have the best of both worlds, unfortunately.) Does that mean I have to tell her… the truth?

NO. NO. SHE'LL START MAKING ME CROSSDRESS AS LEN. I CAN SEE IT. I DO NOT NEED THIS LIFESTYLE. I KNOW I'M NOT VERY WELL-ENDOWED, BUT FOR THE LIFE OF ME, I'M NEVER GOING TO DRESS AS THAT BROTHER OF MINE. (I'm sorry Miki, but you'll have to be kept in the dark for much longer.)

As soon as I get home, I call Aunt Miriam.

"Rin?" she says indifferently. "Why are you breathing down the phone like you're having a lung dysfunction?"

I roll my eyes. "I ran home so I could call you ASAP," I answer. "So…?"

"Well," she grunts like the old woman she truly is, "before you rudely hung up on me before, I wanted to say that on Friday afternoon, your father has arranged for some time to meet with you at his office to sort things out. I'll start packing up the apartment and shifting your mother's things to mine or putting them into storage for the time being, so, you should start packing your room as well. I want to finish the move by the end of the month, which is in two weeks. Do you understand?"

"Wait, so I have to go into the city on Friday afternoon, to that bloody record company building, _walk in_ and say, 'I want to see my father'?" I squeak. The thought is already enough to make me want to pass out.

Miriam huffs. "_Yes_, and everyone will be notified you'll be coming. He said he'll be available at around 5pm. So make sure you're there at least 15 minutes prior. I know it's a thing for your mother and you to be exceptionally late arriving to everything, so _at least_ get ready an hour before so you _don't_ embarrass yourself."

I feel like my brain has turned to mush. I just… Me? Walk in to his office? Where all the famous people are? _Me?_ "Miriam, you _know_ how I get when I have to do these kinds of things…" I reason nervously.

"Oh, you're being stupid, now, Rin," she says dismissively. "He's not going to eat you. He's your father. In a lot of ways, he's a lot more professional than your mother."

"I thought he had an affair with that… that…"

"Lily? Well, yes. There's that. But otherwise, he only wants to speak with you shortly so things can be organised." I hear her shuffle on the other side, sighing tiredly. "So, Friday—15 minutes before five o'clock in the afternoon. Be there, Rin. It'll be even more embarrassing if you chicken out."

I make choking sounds in protest, but she hangs up before I can argue any more, leaving me feeling like I might suffer from a stroke.

(Perhaps I'm overreacting. Just a tad. But this is the CEO of Kagamine Records Co., one of the most successful record companies in the entire Asian continent. And then there's me. It's terrifying, right? Totally terrifying.)

I call Miki to seek moral support once again.

"So you have to go to his big office? _Wow_. You should take me too," she says, after I update her vaguely on what just happened.

I laugh nervously, fiddling with the phone cord. "I don't think that's a… good idea. Really. My dad probably won't appreciate me bringing along strangers."

"Mm… You're right. But if he's cool, you should totally invite me over some time," she tells me.

"Right." That would also be a very bad idea. "I just… I'm so not into the whole business-like approach, Miki. You know what I'm like. I can't even walk straight without tripping over myself somehow. It's just… intimidating… Plus, I've never even talked to him. What if he turns out to be a paedophile—or worse!—a masochist?"

Miki just chuckles. "Rin, I'm sure he won't be that bad. Plus, if it really is that terrible I'm sure my mum would adopt you for a while. After all, you're the only person who likes her grotesque citrus tarts." She mock-belches, and I smile a little.

I wish I could tell her the truth, but then again, I'd prefer her obsession over my brother to be even less, if anything.

"Miriam said I have to be there by a quarter to five, so I'll have to take the train straight from school to go there because I won't have enough time to come home. Should I just go in my uniform, or get changed after class?" I ask.

"Why are you asking me?" she inquires back, but when I don't reply, continues, "Well, I think you should wear that really cute dress we bought together the other week. It's cute and totally you. Maybe you might pick up some handsome, enigmatic office intern or whatever."

I snort at her weird delusion. "…Right. You don't think the dress would look too… shabby, would it?"

"No way. It's got all the fancy lace and stuff. Lace is always business-like. Or, well, proper. It'll make you look like you're rich—ooh! Like a princess."

…Not really, Miki.

"I'll think about it," I say tentatively. "I don't really want to stand out too much… you know."

Miki sighs. "Yes, I know, Rinnie." She pauses. "Sometimes I feel like you're hiding things from me. Like this is a lot more important than what you've said to me."

Uh oh. "Really?" I squeak. "It's probably just me being paranoid and all… Sorry."

She's silent for a few more moments, like she's calculating whether to believe me or not. I hold my breath. "Alright. If there's anything else you want to talk about, just text me, okay?"

"O-of course!"

We say goodbye to each other and hang up. I exhale shakily, looking at the phone in my hand. That was close. I was almost sure she was going to turn around and be like, "This magazine here's telling me that Leon Kagamine of Kagamine Records Co. has a daughter called _Rin Yamagawa_—are you sure your dad is _just_ a businessman?"

One day, I will have to be honest.

I'm not looking forward to that day, because the honesty will probably come _after_ the truth has been leaked. Like how a lot of lies are found out—the last way you don't want them to.

* * *

I feel like I'm running on a high.

A jittery, either-I'm-going-to-pee-my-pants-or-pass-out high.

I followed Miki's advice and (reluctantly) changed into the dress she recommended earlier in the week—it's a little childish, I'm afraid, but I guess it's ten times better than a stained t-shirt and sweatpants or some raunchy nightdress.

As I'm standing on the train, I feel as if everyone is staring at me. Like they know who I really am, or what I'm going to do. (But they're probably looking at me wondering why I'm wearing these clothes.)

The train pulls up to my stop and I meekly wander out into the crowd, and from memory, follow in the directions I'd looked up last night. I'm out onto the bustling streets of the city, staring up at the millions of intimidating high-rises that hide the sky.

I take a deep breath and fan myself. _Don't let yourself down now, Rin. A panic attack in the middle of a sea of strangers is not the best thing to resort to at this great time of difficulty._ Once the dizzy spell passes, I find my bearings and meander along the street, looking for the bleary, 'KAGAMINE RECORDS' sign that gives away my awaited destination.

Actually, I nearly miss it. I walk backwards carefully, making sure I read the sign correct (I have to get on the balls of my feet to look, though, because everyone's heads are in the way). Next, I realise the two tough-looking men in shades standing at the entrance. I almost quit, then, like; _nope, nope, I'm not going through them. I'm done_. But someone grabs my elbow and hisses into my ear, "Rin Yamagawa?"

I squawk unattractively in surprise, whipping my head around to face a middle-aged woman. She's a little taller than me, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. "M-me?" I ask stupidly.

She nods, smiling warmly. "You have your father's legs. And Len's eyes."

"Um… thanks?" I reply gingerly. "Uh… Who are you?"

The woman blinks, her expression going blank. "Oh. Right—I'm Lily. Your stepmother."

Lily. The woman in the affair Mum always bags. She's a fashion designer, isn't she? Or something like that. Ugh. Famous people. I can't keep up.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I apologise, feeling myself turn red. "I didn't recognise you. Nice to meet you, I'm Ri—wait, you already know that. Um."

Lily just smiles politely, steering me towards the doors. The security guard scans her ID and nods for her to continue. "It's alright—this would be a little overwhelming, no?"

I laugh uncomfortably. "My life is generally overwhelming, really—it's nothing new."

She ignores my awkward statement and signs in at the front desk. The lobby is clean-cut and sleek; a clip of one of Miku Hatsune, one of Kagamine Record's most successful idols', songs playing on the television above our heads, and neatly-dressed people sit on the chairs, looking important. "Your father's still in a meeting, so I hope you don't mind waiting twenty minutes. I'll take you to the recreational floor—you can wait there for a while. Perhaps your brother might be on his break."

Well… I hope he isn't. I hope it's completely empty.

The 'recreational floor' (which I never knew record companies had?) is on the 26th floor. It's also quite neat, futuristic—whatever—but it also has things like a pool table, arcade games, televisions, books; it's like, heaven for every other person but me.

"Hmm, Kaito, have you seen Len around?" Lily asks a blue-haired man standing off to the side gorging himself with ice-cream. I then realise… it's THE Kaito Shion—the dreamy singer dude who is always promoting Häagen-Dazs ice-cream on TV. Like, in the flesh. Oh gosh, Miki would kill me if she knew this was happening.

He blinks rather dazedly at her, shaking his head. "Is that fresh meat?" he questions, nodding in the direction of me.

I begin to break out in uneasy laughter at the thought he mistook me for some rookie idol, and slowly back away towards the elevator. Lily puts a firm hand on my shoulder, though, keeping me in place. "Oh, well, you know how Leon has been fussing about recently regarding relatives?" she starts.

"I do," Kaito responds.

"This is his daughter. Len's twin sister."

Kaito looks at me. Then looks back at Lily. Then looks at me again, before his eyes widen and he breathes, "_Ohhhhhhhhh_." He takes a step forward, studying me closely. "Hmm. Len has mentioned something once or twice about having a sibling… You do share some qualities. But it's hard to tell when you're glaring at me."

"That's… my normal face?" (Well, it's true; I have the tendency to glare unintentionally.)

He stands up straight, sucking his lips in. "Oops. My bad. Well, it's nice meeting you, Len's twin sister."

"…It's nice meeting you too?" I squeak.

Lily then clears her throat to draw the attention back to her. "Kaito, would you mind keeping Rin company until her father gets out of his meeting? I've got to run some errands," she states. Kaito nods solemnly, taking another bite of his frozen treat. Then she turns to me to pat me awkwardly on the shoulder, as if to give me good luck, and bustles off.

"Have you ever been here, before, Rin?" Kaito asks once she's gone.

"My mum is allergic to my father, supposedly, so no," I answer. I check the time on my watch nervously. I don't think I can spend 15 minutes with Kaito Shion. I'm flat out trying to keep myself composed.

He hums. "I guess that's why you have _that face_ like you can't believe your eyes. They all do. The newbies. Except, by your reaction earlier, I'm guessing you're not in favour of performance careers?"

"Nope. No way. Nay. Nada. Never."

Kaito laughs at my abrupt response, comments with an, "I see," and falls into an awkward silence.

This is what I wanted to avoid. Awkward silences? Count me out. Especially with—well, you get the idea. I shuffle uncomfortably after a few moments. "Hey, do you guys have a bathroom, here? I pretty much had to rush here from school, so…"

He blinks. "Oh, yeah, just around the corner at the back. You'll see the sign." He points past me to the far left corner.

"Thanks!" I rush off before anyone can stop me.

* * *

"_Len's sister_ is in there? No way!"

The bustle of voices just outside the toilet makes the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. I'm sitting on the counter—yes, very clean, I am—avoiding socialising as much as possible. Just six more minutes. (However, I'm not looking forward any more to what comes after these last gruelling six minutes.)

"Yeah, but she's been in there for about 10 minutes… I'm wondering if she's okay," Kaito's voice says.

A woman chuckles darkly. "Perhaps she's gotten lost."

"I'll go check!" a higher, much feminine voice exclaims. Before I can escape and hide in one of the cubicles, _Miku Fucking Hastune_ strides in looking rather dapper. I nearly fall off the bench in shock. She spots me and grins—it's one of those well-practiced, I-must-please-the-audience grins. I smile back unsurely, hoping my reflection in the mirror might reach out and save me.

Okay. _Okay_. It's _just_ Miku Hatsune.

_Miku Hatsune_.

Miku _Fucking_ Hatsune. Excuse my French, but I believe the fucking makes a decent statement about this situation. How many average teenage girls get to have a random conversation with Japan's No.1 Top Teen Idol (or whatever she is) in the middle of a bathroom? That's right. None.

"Hi! You're Len's sister, right? What's your name?" she asks, bounding over.

"What? Um—yes. Wha—I'm Rin, um." Oh my God, Rin, speak like a human.

She gasps, grabbing my arm. "That's _so_ cute."

"Er, not really."

Miku blinks innocently, dismissing my remark. "Why are you sitting in here?"

I choke out some incoherent replies, before swallowing and explaining, "I have a critical case of social awkwardness, and the company of a nice-smelling bathroom is a lot more aesthetically pleasing in that case."

She tilts her head. "You use a lot of big words."

I feel like she didn't process anything I just said. "…thank you?"

"Anyway," Miku changes the topic with haste, "you should come out and talk with us. We _love_ new people." That's sounds incredibly creepy; like she might try to eat me. She tries to pull me off the bench with great difficulty, and finally I give in, skulking out behind her and back into the Room with a Lot of Rich and Famous People.

Kaito is still there, no longer with his ice-cream, and none other than Meiko Sakine standing beside him. She shifts her boobs and narrows her eyes at me. "It's a lot uglier than I thought it would be," she states.

"That's not very nice," Miku says. But no denying it, now, are we?

I _try_ not to be offended. Especially the 'it' thing. Like, hello? Yes, I am biologically a female. I would like to be referred by that as well. Thank. You. "I can look worse, trust me," I murmur dryly, folding my arms over my chest, feeling conscious towards my lack of womanly endorsements.

"Hmm." She continues eyeing me for a few more moments. "You're cute, actually. I like you. Come here." I'm hesitant as she outstretches her arms, but someone (Miku) pushes me towards her. She engulfs me into her chest.

I can't breathe. It actually hurts. Are these even real?

(By the way, what the hell is with people calling me cute around here? Is it like an indirect insult? Like, "ew, she's so cute"-kind-of-thing? Can I at least be called something different? Like, pretty?)

She releases me and I back away a few safe metres from her. "Boob embraces are not your thing?" she inquires with the raise of an eyebrow.

"I'm not a very touchy-feely person," I explain, "I'm not really an anything."

"She 'has a critical case of social awkwardness'," Miku quotes with her wide-eye act again.

…Is she really this—I don't know—stupid? I feel like I'm missing something, here. Maybe she got dropped on her head at birth. (That's a really terrible thing to say, but I'm sincerely not sorry.)

Wait a second—isn't Len dating her? I'm pretty sure Miki said they were.

…_Well_.

I don't have much of a right to judge him on this choice, but… _really?_

"She's glaring at us," Meiko says with a frown.

"She says it's her normal face," Kaito responds offhandedly.

The looks of concern on their faces tells me I should probably come back to Earth. "Sorry," I blurt, snapping from my trance. I feel myself turn red. Do I _really_ look that angry when I'm thinking? No wonder a lot of my teachers seem wary around me. I thought it was just because I lack emotion in class because I hate it so much. (Actually, it could be a combination of both.) I check my watch. Ah. Two minutes. "I think I should go…" I begin slowly, looking around for Lily or someone who can escort me to safety from the awkward atmosphere.

"Oh! Right. Well, we'll all take you to Leon's office. It's on the 52nd level," Kaito says cheerfully.

"The _52__nd_?" I blanch. How many levels does this thing have? "I-it's okay, I'm sure I can find it myself…"

"No, no! I insist," Kaito tells me with a grave expression, "that we take you there."

…Are they going to rape me? Seriously, though. 'I _insist_.' Hey there friend, I think you might need to slow down just a little.

"Yay! Let's take Len's sister to see her dad!" Miku exclaims, clapping her hands like a child. Who would have thought an idol who sings such heavy songs actually acts like she's merely six years old? I'm still trying to work out whether it's a persona or façade 'for the character'.

They follow me to the elevator and shuffle in closely behind.

If I was Miki, I would be spazzing. I mean, I'm folded like a pack of sardines with some of Japan's most successful pop stars.

Ah, I wish I could tell her all these things.

"So, Rin, do you listen to our songs much?" Meiko questions while we ascend. I'm waiting for myself to start floating because the elevator's moving so fast.

I falter. "On the radio I do. Well, my best friend is obsessed with you guys—mostly obsessed with Len—so she's always quick to make sure I hear the latest hits." I laugh nervously at my lack of musical enthusiasm.

"Does she know Len's your brother?"

"I'm pretty sure she would try having sex with me if she did."

"That's intense," Kaito comments. "I mean, not as intense as some of Miku's fans, though. I won't go into detail."

Miku pouts. "Once, I got sent a jar full of seme—"

Meiko places a hand over her mouth, but I'd already heard enough to know what the sentence was leading to.

"How intriguing," I state wryly.

"Indeed," Meiko responds, screwing up her face. The doors of the elevator pop open and they lead me out into a corridor. "Do you like music? Like, do you play any instruments…?"

I shake my head no. "Unless you take occasional singing in the shower as a hobby," I mention. She shrugs. "I tried piano out for like, a week, but I didn't really _feel_ it. I don't know if that's supposed to happen with instruments, but I felt like bashing my fingers numb from frustration."

"It does happen," Kaito muses in agreement. "I can't _stand_ saxophone."

Meiko and Miku both nod, muttering the instruments they dislike as well. Wait, how many instruments have they tried playing? I feel beyond pleb-level, here—like I descend way below that classification in comparison to what they know.

We stop in front of a large blue door which reads CEO OFFICE. The small talk was nice enough to make me forget I'm so nervous, but seeing this just brings it back three times worse. "Oh," I mutter with unenthusiastic surprise.

"Are you scared?" Miku whispers as Meiko knocks on the door.

I nod stiffly as someone from inside calls, "Come in!"

"Don't be," she says reassuringly. I smile at her timidly.

Meiko opens the door and we shuffle in like soldiers. Leon is sitting neatly at the desk, writing and typing simultaneously. He pauses to adjust his glasses and look over them at me. It takes him a few moments to recognise who I am, though. "Oh. Rin!" he exclaims with a broad, sunny smile. I'm almost blinded by the whiteness of his teeth.

He stands from the desk—a tall, lean man; what I imagined, really—and takes two long strides towards me to fold me into a very bony, taut hug. That's two for today—I'm reaching my limit with all this intimate touching.

"It's so good to see you!" he bellows into my ear.

I stand still, unsure of what I should do. "Y-yes. You too," I stammer.

He thanks the trio and waves them away, and they all say, "Bye, Len's sister!" before disappearing out the door. Once they're gone, Leon pulls a chair aside for me to sit on and I stiffly sink down onto the cushion.

"I see you've met the lot of them already. Have you met Len, too?" I shake my head. "Hmm, that boy, I _did_ tell him you were going to be here this afternoon… I wonder what his excuse is." He frowns, but then resumes a neutral expression. "Anyway, how are you, Rin? I believe we've never had a proper conversation before."

"We haven't," I agree carefully. "I'm… good. How are you?"

Leon gives me his blinding smile once again. "Better than ever," he tells me, before his expression becomes solemn again. "I hear your mother is running into trouble again, no? I always offer help, but she refuses it—the stubborn thing. Are you coping alright? Can you cook dinner yourself? Do you need any money—a ride to school? If you need anything at all, just ask me."

"I'm fine," I reassure. "It's happened before; so, I'm used to this kind of thing. Miriam takes care of anything I can't."

He presses his lips together. "Alright, that's good to hear." He shuffles through some of the papers on his desk, rearranging them into a neat pile. "So I believe Miriam has already given the gist of what's going to happen? You'll be staying with us until everything is back to normal?"

"Yes."

"Are you okay with that?"

"…Yes?" Leon raises an eyebrow at my uncertainty. I bite my lip, fiddling with the hem of my dress. "Maybe…? I'm just, it's er…"

"Strange having to live with people who you don't know really well?" he offers. I nod, my head down. "I understand. But I've brought up the issue with both Len and Lily and they're quite happy for you to stay. I know it's hard when you don't know us well, but this could improve our relationships a lot. I promise I'll try to make you feel at home—and I won't make you do anything that's out of your comfort zone. Miriam's already drawn the line with how your mother doesn't want you being associated with the media or anything of the sort."

Leon's… not that bad, actually. I always know Mum exaggerates when she talks about him, but this just settles my worries over it all, you know?

"Have you started packing?" he then inquires.

"Um, a little…" I answer. (I haven't, really. I've got the boxes… and that's about it.)

He nods. "If you need help with any of that, I can arrange for someone to come and help you."

"Thank you." I'm not sure whether I will need anyone—plus the thought of some random going through my stuff? Nah.

Then Leon changes from Dad-mode to Business-mode. It's a little scary. "Next week, would it be possible for you to start moving in? I don't mean to rush you, but I want to give you more time to settle in so you're not moving everything in a panic. Plus, Lily keeps nagging me about _daughter_ this and _daughter_ that. Have you met her yet? You should have."

"Y-yeah. She's cool."

He smiles. "So is that alright?"

"What?" I feel like an idiot saying this.

"To start moving during next week," he repeats.

"Oh, right. It's fine."

Leon seems to be pleased to hear this. He pulls out a card from his pocket and hands it to me. "Keep in touch with me during the week, will you? And just give me a ring when you're ready to start shifting everything."

"Of course," I say, scanning the card briefly. It has his contact numbers printed on it—like a business card. I slip it into my bag.

"Well, I believe that's all I have to discuss with you for now. Do you have any questions?"

I blink, thinking. "Do I have a room?"

"A room?" He cocks his eyebrow questioningly.

"You know, somewhere to sleep…" I say slowly.

"Oh! Yes, of course. We have plenty of rooms; we've arranged one just for you. You'll be sharing a bathroom with Len, though, I hope you don't mind."

Share a bathroom? With _Len?_ A _guy?_

Sounds…

…ugh, well, okay. Let's not think about that sort of thing for now.

"Sure," I lie smoothly (for the first time in my life).

Leon nods. "Okay. I'll call for someone to escort you back down to the lobby. Just wait a moment." He turns away to speak into a walkie-talkie thing, and shortly he receives a reply. "Alright, you can go. It was a pleasure meeting you, Rin."

"You too," I respond meekly, before I shuffle out of the room and back into the hallway.

I feel so mentally exhausted I just want to collapse.

* * *

*shakes fist* why does my writing suck though

oh but look! I've managed to post twice in a day! _shock horror_

ahh yes, I know I said on my profile that this is a last priority... but you know I lie a lot... (plus I see this is much rather in demand, however, I'm not sure how popular it'll be after this update becauseIsuckhahahaaaaaaarrrrrr.)

I seem to be unable to update the stories I _want_ to update, and able to update the stories I _don't_ want to update. do you feel me. and a lot of the time I'll try to write a oneshot but then I'll get annoyed with it and I just end up wasting all that time for nothing!

how is this for length, by the way? like, I don't want to make the chapters too long so I can update a bit faster and balance what happens a bit more... but I don't want to make them too short as in they're kind of greatly unsatisfying, you know? so I tried to keep this at an okayish length (4,000 words) and try to even out the, uh, 'events' for each chapter.

anyway ple_eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee_eease (did you see the begging? I am begging. egging. what.) leave a review telling me your thoughts on this chapter, as it is always much encouraging. also, please check out my other stories if you like this one because that is nice thank you bye


	3. chapter TWO - this is awkward and I

A shorter and disappointing chapter, apologies; but at least I actually updated.

* * *

**2**

"I'm guessing it all went good?" Miki says to me on Monday morning when we meet up in homeroom. "Otherwise you would have called me in a panic."

I spent the weekend rushing to pack, and totally forgot to text her about what happened. "Oh, it went okay, but he said he wants me to start moving in this week, so I've been busy organising everything," I explain. "I met some of his work colleagues and that. They seem pretty cool."

"Yay! Does that mean I get to have sleepovers in your new house?"

"I'm not sure about _that…_" Miki pouts at me and I shrug sheepishly. "We'll see. I don't really want to suddenly move in and be like, 'Hey, this is my house now; I'll do whatever I want.' I don't feel like becoming homeless." (Despite my previous remarks, I have reconsidered such statements and take them back on realising the reality of them.)

She grins. "I know, I was only joking around." She turns away to set up her desk for her next class. "When will you be visiting your mum, by the way? Has your aunt told her about everything yet?"

"I'm supposed to be going this afternoon. And yeah, apparently—she wasn't very impressed, but Miriam managed to convince her that I'm old enough to be responsible and stand up for myself, blah, blah," I tell her. "She'll probably ring Le—my dad and give him an earful regarding him _taking care of his daughter_." Oops. It nearly slipped.

Miki laughs. "She just cares about you, Rin."

"Sometimes. Or she just hates Dad." I roll my eyes.

The day's events trickle by slowly. All I can really do is think about moving. Oh, and sharing a bathroom with Len. (It's really bothering me, you know? I've lived as an only child all my life, and now I have to risk my private time for my brother… who, hello, is a guy? I worry about the things I might find. What happens if I walk in on him doing something… scandalous? Oh man. I can't even handle this.)

On Wednesday afternoon, I'm supposed to start shifting everything over to Leon's house—apparently it's this monster-sized thing in the middle of one of the higher-class suburbs. There'll be a moving truck and a limousine—yes, _a limousine_—for me to hide myself in; though, the thought of having to hop into one of those in broad daylight brings me shame. People will mistake me for royalty or something.

Ah yes, now, the hospital. To be honest, it's my least favourite place to visit. Mainly because it always brings back unhappy memories—and it also smells like hand sanitiser and dead people. I guess you can't help it when your mum ends up in here every now and again, though.

Miriam comes with me to moderate the rendezvous. She's telling me what to say to Mum regarding the _news_. (Basically, act comfortable and happy with what's happening so she'll worry a little bit less. Hopefully.)

Mum's sitting in her bed watching TV when we roll in, looking bored out of her mind. She seems tired and fragile in amongst the hospital sheets. "Ann?" Miriam calls.

She moves her eyes slowly, in the most miserable way you could possibly move your eyes, and stops them on us. "Oh," is all she says.

"Hi Mum," I respond as cheerily as possible, even though this atmosphere is _really_ not that uplifting.

"Hello, Rin."

"How are you?" I inquire, perching on the edge of her bed.

She blinks wearily. "Fine. How is school?"

I shrug my shoulders. "It's alright."

"And Leon?"

"He was alright, too."

"Is he trying to force anything weird on you? Don't fall for it, Rin, you _don't_ want to end up like your brother—"

"He's not, he's not," I interrupt calmly, holding up a hand. "He respects what you want for me, Mum. I'm sure Aunt Miriam will keep a close eye on him, too."

She scrunches up her face and exhales. "I'm _so_ sorry, Rin, I'm really sorry, okay? I didn't want this to happen. I'm sorry."

I know you didn't want this to happen. You wanted to _die_, Mum.

But I don't say any of that.

"It's fine," I tell her with a reassuring smile. "I can handle this. I've met some new people and they seem really nice. I'll be fine. You just worry about getting better, alright?"

Her eyes fall to her hands guiltily. "When are you moving in?" she asks me.

"On Wednesday."

"Have you met Lily?"

"Yes. She's quite friendly."

"What about Len?"

"No. He was busy when I went to see Leon the other day."

Mum sighs to herself. "If there are _any_ problems—even between Len and you—you _must_ tell Aunt Miriam right away," she lectures. "I don't want anything happening to you. If anything you're not comfortable with happens, or if you feel unsafe, you need to tell someone—"

"Mum," I interject gravely. She glances up and I hold her gaze. "It's cool. I will. I promise you. Please just focus on yourself instead of me. Your health is much more important."

She doesn't say anything, but just looks away. Miriam decides this is the time to interject and rattle off her dose of uninteresting gossip and news, so I tune out and stare at the bland, off-white walls to pass the time. It's hard when Mum is like this. It's hard to talk to her—to make sense out of her. It's… upsetting.

After saying our goodbyes and get wells, Miriam drives me back home.

"You sure you don't need any help packing?" she asks, somewhat concerned, just before I hope out of the car.

I pause. "I think I'm nearly done, so," I say. "But I'll call if I do need any."

She presses her lips together. "Right. Are you okay, Rin?"

"Hmm? Yes, of course."

Miriam eyes me dubiously. "Your mother _will_ be fine. The doctors said she's improving, even if it's just a little. It might be a month or so, but it's nothing to lose sleep over, Rin. Everything will work out."

I slide out of the car. "I know."

"Are you sure you're okay?" she repeats quickly before I shut the car door on her.

_Am_ I okay? Well. Not really. My mum is in hospital because she wants to die, and my life is just a whole jumble. Despite my thoughts, I nod at her, forcing a grin. "Yeah. I'm just tired from today. Monday just isn't my day, I guess."

Every day isn't my day, but I guess there's not much I can do about it.

* * *

On Wednesday afternoon, as soon as I arrive home from school, Leon calls saying that he'll be sending over the truck and that to the apartment. "Len's taking time off to help you move your things in this afternoon, as well," he tells me.

"Will you be helping too?" I ask. Leon's probably forcing Len to help. Realistically, I don't think he's minutely interested in a poor creature like me—let alone helping me move into his house so I can steal his bathroom and privacy.

"No, no, I've got a meeting in fifteen minutes. I'll come after it's done though. Lily will be there, too." He sounds… distracted. He's probably doing paperwork while talking to me. "Is that alright?"

"Yeah. Sure. It's fine. How long will the truck be?"

"About ten minutes. The limousine will be there not too long after, as well. I instructed your driver to make the front desk call you when they arrive, so don't worry about standing outside and waiting for them." Leon—Dad—pauses, the sound of papers shuffling on his side. "Alright. Well, I'll leave you to it. Call me if there are any problems."

"Oh—yep. Um. Bye."

"Bye." He hangs up immediately.

I sigh to myself shakily, nervous. I feel like I should be all prettied up to impress the family when I arrive at their gaudy mansion, but I look like I just walked through a typhoon. I'm still in my school uniform—well; I literally _did_ just get home from school. I contemplate getting changed, but I really can't be bothered.

Plus, wearing my school uniform might make me look somewhat studious.

(Oh, who am I kidding?)

I lug some of the boxes I can physically carry to the hallway, and leave the heavier ones behind in my room. Some of my stuff I'll be leaving here anyway, like my furniture—and that'll be put into storage with the rest of the apartment's contents until Mum is better and has a stable job again.

For remainder of those ten minutes, I stand around uselessly, trying to calm myself. I freak out about little things, I know, but…

I close my eyes and inhale slowly. Breathe, Rin. Breathe.

Two sharp knocks on the door startle me from my daze, and I rush to answer it. Sure enough, it's the truck driver and an assistant. They look at me, surprised—they were probably told they were dealing with 'Leon Kagamine's daughter' (or whatever), and expected some pristine, princess-like girl with nice hair and clear skin. (Alas, instead it's some scruffy-looking midget teenager. Yahoo.)

After I invite them in, they basically go ahead and do their thing. (Wow, that sounded unnecessarily dirty.) I offer to help, but they're just like, _Nah, it's our job, you just chill_ (well, they didn't say that exactly, but… You get the idea), so I stand around like the useless, scruffy-looking midget teenager I am, watching them move my belongings.

About five minutes after they finish and leave for the mansion, the phone rings, and—surprise, surprise (or, not so surprise)—it's the reception calling to tell me my 'transport' has arrived.

Cue internal shitting of myself here.

I scramble to grab my bags and, with one last (nervous and sad) look over my shoulder at my old home, leave as a large seed of regret buds in my chest. (I'm trying very hard not to be melodramatic, here, but as you can see—er, read—it's not working very well.)

The driver greets me downstairs in the lobby. He's a tall man and looks to be in his mid-30s, with dark, slicked back hair and soft brown eyes. He bows formally, then outstretches his hand to shake mine. I gingerly take it. "Ms Yamagawa," he says with a smile, giving my hand a rough jolt before releasing it. "Nice to meet you. I'm the personal chauffeur of your brother—you can just call me Tonio."

"Oh," I squeak feebly, letting my arm drop back to my side. I feel like he almost dislocated my hand, just then. "Nice to meet you too. You can just call me Rin."

Tonio takes some of my bags from me. "Of course."

The limousine is indeed a limousine. (Wow, nice observation, Rin.) Like most of the latter vehicles, it's long, black and sleek. It's actually quite intimidating, for a lower-middle class soul like me, to look at.

The driver leads me around to the boot where we put the remainder of my bags in, and he opens the door of the vehicle for me to slide in. The seats are made of leather, and it smells pleasantly new.

Once we're driving, Tonio speaks up. "Lily did try to convince Len to come with me, but he was a little reluctant," he says casually, briefly meeting my eyes through the rear-vision mirror. He must see my expression, because he hastily adds, "I think he's nervous to meet you, that's all. He's a polite boy. I can see how you two are related."

"I'm glad it's mutual," I mumble, more so to myself, but he overhears me anyway.

"Nervous too? I thought so. There's no need to worry. The Kagamine family are always well-mannered and welcoming. I'm sure they'll be even warmer towards you, being a part of the family too," he reassures.

I laugh uncertainly. "It's not like I'm nervous about them being mean to me. I just feel like I stick out like a sore thumb in comparison to them… I don't stand out at all. I have no special talents or anything like that. It's like I'm a circle trying to fit in with some squares. It just doesn't work out."

"They're normal people, too, underneath all the flashing cameras and glitz and glamour," Tonio tells me. "Everyone's quite excited for you to stay. Even the staff who work with the Kagamine family."

"Really?" I'm not convinced.

He just winks at me through the mirror. "Really."

We fall into silence, so I let my eyes take in the scene of the limousine. It's a smaller kind, but nonetheless grossly fancy—there are a thousand different kinds of buttons arranged on the car doors on either side, and there's a television screen attached to the roof on the left hand side. There's a tray table for drinks and food and a sun visor overhead.

I turn my attention to the window. The 'Kagamine mansion' is situated in one of the high-class suburbs in Tokyo. Somehow they managed to squeeze in such a massive house in the overcrowded streets of the city; so when we pull up at the gates of said estate to be allowed inside, I can't help but gawk at the sight. It reminds me of foreign houses—like over in the United States.

I'm still recovering from awe when we drive in, into what seems to be a garage. Tonio opens the door of my side and I step out, trying to be cool and calm. (But I fail within a second, because I trip over my feet soon afterwards.)

"Rin!" someone exclaims—that someone who turns out to be Lily—and she comes rushing forward to greet me. "We've already moved all the boxes to your room. You don't seem to have a lot of things…?"

I blink stupidly. "Oh. Right. Some of the stuff I don't need I've just put into storage with all the other stuff from the apartment," I explain as we retrieve my bags from the boot of the limousine. As we're doing this, I glance around, expecting Len to have followed Lily out to greet me as well, but _Japan's No.1 Teen Pop Star!_ is nowhere to be seen.

Psh. So much for helping with moving.

I follow Lily and Tonio blindly as they take me upstairs into the mansion lobby, then upstairs again to my bedroom. It's one of the first doors in a long hallway to my left—and I'm_ guessing_ the door after that is Len's. Speaking of Len, he is still nowhere.

Perhaps he left.

Rude.

Lily opens the door to my room, which is predominately empty furniture and boxes. The walls are a light shade of peach, the floor covered with extremely soft, white carpet. There's a double bed in the middle of the room, a desk to my left and a walk-in-wardrobe to my right—as well as what looks like the door to the bathroom. A large, tinted window is placed in the middle of the wall across from my bed, showing an overheard view of the street we just drove up moments ago.

It smells… citrusy.

How do they know I like this kind of smell?

(…Aunt Miriam. I already know the answer. She probably told them all my favourites about everything—maybe even my darkest secrets. Great. They'll probably know about the Tinkerbell incident, too.)

"Rin?" Lily calls, waving a hand in front of my face. She frowns at me when I snap out of my trance. (I really need to stop doing that.) "What do you think? Is it alright? Too small? Do you want a bigger bed?"

"Um," I say uneasily, looking around once again. Is it rude to say it's _too big?_ Or _too fancy?_ I don't think rich people understand how overwhelming this environment is to a poor, peasant child like me. "It's impressive."

She tilts her head. "Is it alright?"

I laugh uncomfortably. "I'm just… not used to the spaciousness. That's all."

"Oh," she says, an expression of realisation crossing her face. "Right. I forgot. Well, if it's too much for you we can find a smaller room…?"

I sit on the edge of my bed, testing the mattress. It's firm, but not uncomfortable. "No. This is fine. I think I just have to get used to the difference," I tell her.

Tonio has disappeared, I then notice. Maybe he left?

Oh. And Len is still non-existent. But… I'm not that surprised. (Maybe I'm more so relieved he hasn't debuted yet.) (Ha-ha, debuted, I'm so _pun_ny.)

Speaking of Len, Lily suddenly realises the _chart-topping idol_ is scarce as well. "Oh, Len, I forgot," she utters, glancing around for him. "Where did he go? That boy… Hold on a minute, Rin." She steps out of my room and yells rather viciously down the hallway, "LEN KAGAMINE!"

The echo makes my ears ring and I cringe. Remind me not to get on Lily's bad side. I have a feeling she'd behead you if you did something wrong.

I jump about a foot into the air when, a few moments later, the bathroom door behind me swings open and a male voice responds with, "LILY KAGAMINE!" in the same vicious, ear-ring-y, cringe-y manner. I stand up, startled, swinging around to—

This is the part where I shut down temporarily.

Like, you know when you see someone really famous? I don't know, it's the same feeling when you watch your favourite band walk out onto stage at a concert—just, your breath goes away. Well, my breath goes away when I see Len's face and I freeze up all over, like, _oh shit, oh shit, what do I do? How do I human again?_

I'm not obsessed with Len like Miki, nor do I deem myself a fan-girl. But it's just—

_Wow_.

Flesh.

Real deal.

Len Kagamine.

There. Standing across my room in jeans and a t-shirt. As a human.

Amen.

Lily storms back into my room, pointing at him accusingly. "Len! This is not how you greet your visitors! You should have come down to say hello when we got her bags from the car! Don't think you can slack off just because you carried some boxes here!"

The blonde boy pulls a face. "Nature calls," he tells her sheepishly with a shrug. Then he glances at me backed up against the opposite wall, and blinks, a sudden aloofness washing over him. "Hi."

I unfreeze from my shut down mode; as if my brain suddenly registers I should act appropriate and human at this time. "Hi," I answer back awkwardly, with the same amount of aloofness.

Lily sighs, apparently irritated. "I can't believe you," she says to the blonde boy, shaking her head. Then she looks back at me apologetically. "I'm sorry Len is a teenage boy, Rin. He can act better than this, but perhaps he feels intimidated by your presence."

"Intimidated?" Len snorts. "She's like two metres shorter than me."

"That's an exaggeration," I mumble, getting defensive about my height. "It's not like you're _that_ tall."

The boy pats himself proudly on his chest. "But I will grow, whereas you will not."

I say nothing, defeated by his point.

"_So_." Len looks at me with a grave expression, striding across the room so he's within reasonable distance of me. This… closeness allows me to scrutinise him better. (That was a creepy sentence.) He isn't as perfect that he seems to be on magazine covers and television. Not in a bad way, though—it's kind of reassuring.

He has really nice eyelashes, and that angers me because mine are non-existent.

But he has acne—not bad, I'm supposing he has a private, personal dermatologist slash beautician slash doctor who gives him all the tips to keeping beautiful skin—and his face isn't _perfectly_ symmetrical. I feel a little better about my grossness, seeing as Len's perfection might as well be makeup and Photoshop.

(_Should_ I feel happy about this?)

(Maybe not, but… whatever.)

And there is a wonderful stretch of… silence.

He squints at me as I stand very, very still, almost as if he's scrutinising me as well. I just remain rigid, like a statue. Just—what do I do? What do I even say?

I mean, a celebrity is standing within half a meter from me.

My _twin brother_ whom I have not met in real life at all is standing within half a meter from me.

I didn't make a plan for how to, er, 'introduce' myself to this stranger slash utterly famous sibling of mine. Like, I thought I would introduce myself by tripping over my feet and smashing my face into his belly button—because I'm just that graceful. But here we are, staring at each other oddly, standing in my bedroom with the beautiful smell of citrus and toilet air freshener stroking the small hairs inside my nostrils.

_And_ Len is a celebrity.

Adored by thousands—no, _millions_ of girls who would probably _slaughter_ to be in the same position as me.

_Utilise this opportunity to your advantage,_ a wise (or not so) voice in my head tells me. It sounds sort of like Aunt Miriam. I'm not entirely sure why.

The said celebrity maintains a straight face until a snort between us breaks the silence. It takes me a few moments to realise that he's laughing. He's _laughing_. Why? _Why?_ Do I have food on my face?

He takes a step back, puts up his hands and says, "This is weird and I don't like it." Then he stops to look at me. "Not saying I don't like _you_, but…" He waves his hands around in distressed motions, before rubbing his face roughly. "Um."

Len Kagamine is a human being. He knows how to be _confused_. Wow.

We are more alike than I imagined.

(Very minutely. Like, 10% or so.)

Lily seems to roll her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, maybe we should leave Rin to settle in, seeing as you're just _so enthused to meet her_. She's probably a little overwhelmed by it all, herself, so… We'll let you unpack a little?" she says. She gives me an impish smile, almost apologetic, like, _sorry your brother is not a society-controlled robot like you thought._

I return the smile and laugh nervously, again, to myself (it's a trademark, really). "That's… fine by me, I guess," I mumble.

"Okay. Good. Well, I'll be downstairs preparing dinner. And Len will probably be in his room. We usually eat around 6:30, so… just give a shout if you need anything?"

I notice Len has already started backing away towards the bathroom once again, probably to escape. I'm a little offended he isn't bouncing off the walls being all like, "Hey! I have a sibling! Let's write a song about it!" or something cliché like the latter, but then again, how does one handle this situation? He is currently a national idol, creeping his way up to international status, and his stupid, untalented sister has just been dumped into his life.

"Right, right, I will," I say distractedly, glancing at the boxes scattering the floor. Oh, what fun! Packing—then unpacking it all again. I don't understand how I even have so much stuff. It never seemed like this much when it was back on the shelves in my room. "Thanks."

Lily nods and disappears—oh, and the sibling has already poofed into non-existence, unsurprisingly (I can see he's _so_ keen on being friends with me. So, so, _so_ keen)—leaving me alone to my duties. Yay. I take this loneliness to snap a photo of the room and send it to Miki, being all like, _what the hell am I doing?_

She replies ten minutes later with a photo of her frowning, asking, _is that your room? __are you sure your dad isn't some member of the royal family?_

I text back _yes, and no_.

If only you _knew_, my friend. If only you knew.

* * *

"I want to pee really badly but I don't want Len to hear me."

—An autobiography by Rin Yamagawa, a distraught teenage girl sharing a bathroom with Japan's No.1 Teen Singer.

* * *

I thought I would upload this seeing as of the end of this week, I will start a part-time job working Thursday and Friday afternoons, and Saturdays, alongside school, meaning I'm not very confident in my updating abilities.

It's short and badly written but that's because I lack ideas and I have no idea of how to approach this, er, topic, seeing as I do not have any long-lost famous twin brothers I am due to suddenly move in with. Is it awkward enough? The main priority was awkwardness, yes. I didn't want to make Rin and Len seem too comfortable at first, because... that doesn't happen.

Um um um I really have to go to bed but can I ask you guys to please check my profile for any updates if you don't hear from me because that's a reliable source? Also I'm looking for a beta reader, and I am a beta reader - oh god just look at my profile if you're interested because I'll take too long to explain

**EDIT: **fixed some mistakes because I was rushing and also half-asleep writing this. Apologies.

**FEEL FREE TO LEAVE ME A REVIEWWWW IT WILL MAKE ME A VERY HAPPY AUTHOR :))**


	4. chapper 3 - and My Hand Went South

why are people still reviewing this even now. i died for nearly a year on this story only to return with another (even shorter) fail chapter.

what is.

what even. i hate myself

also i changed the tense of this story from here on fyi, i havent yet gone back to rewrite the first chapters because i have been beta-ing my ass off and editing my own work just sounds like torture weh. i will edit them later. (weeps softly)

* * *

**3**

Dinner last night was impeccably awkward.

Unsurprisingly.

While walking down to the dining room, I realised that this would be the first proper "family" dinner I would attend. _Yeah_. I had Dad, Len - not Mum, but Lily was a substitute - which was unarguably the most relatives I've ever had in the same room as me at once.

Wow.

I mean, that was a kind of sad thing to reflect on, but… whatever. I'm a pretty sad sight myself, anyway.

So, in the dining room there's a massive table, in which, the four of us only fit into a quarter of. At first I thought it was some wicked joke and they had a much smaller, appropriate table - but no. They did not turn around and yell, "PSYCH!" as I was expecting. _This_ was the dinner table.

Uh, yeah. I had to sit next to Len, as cruel as they could get. The poor guy was still just as confused as I was, and we pretty much only looked at each other once, exchanging sheepish smiles that could technically be translated to _What_. He then proceeded to fidget nervously the _whole time_, unbeknownst to everyone else but _me_ \- and it made me wish that we had an actual proper 'brother-sister' relationship, because _it was super annoying_.

Thank God for self-control. Fantasizing about pushing him out of his chair was enough to keep me at bay.

Leon - _Dad_ \- took up the position of asking annoying questions such as, "What subjects do you study at school, Rin?" and, "What do you plan to be after you graduate?" to try and make everything less awkward, while attempting to 'get to know me better'. I'd stuck with smiling, nodding my head, and laughing when the question didn't require verbal answer. Honestly, I didn't want to disappoint them with the reality that I am… an egg. Plus, having Len next to me made me feel pressured to be _special_ and _talented_\- two things that were impossible expectations. I was neither of those things.

I'm more… average and super uncool. _Talents include verbal diarrhoea and crying about baby animals. Special attack power - failing exams if I don't study my ass off._

He eventually gathered I wasn't in the mood for talking and stopped asking me questions. Instead, he began lecturing Len about everything in general, which made the rest of dinner an amusing spectacle.

Yeah, I know this was _so_ typically naive and judgmental of me, but I couldn't help but think, 'Wow, they actually _behave_ like family. Amazing.' I'd expected their conversations to be all business and serious talk. Not friendly, family bantering, at the least.

Anyway, bath-time was also super awkward.

Len and I had unintentionally walked into the bathroom at the same time to carry out our regular bodily cleansing schedule - as you do. We'd paused and looked at each other as if we'd only just discovered each other's existence. Then came the stalling of words, such as, "You - you wanted to - bath? Um, I was - no, you can go first, I - um -"

_Whew._

After ten minutes of arguing with me that I go first and he go second, Len ended up throwing his hands up in frustration and leaving the bathroom. So, that worked. I guess.

But I didn't like the idea of bathing so close to a man. And in the bathroom of a man. Just - nah?

Nah. Let's not.

So I survived. I survived a night in the house of the Rich and Famous.

Okay, I lied. I did not survive an entire night.

You see, there was this one thing. _One thing_. A small thing that made me want to crawl into a hole and die forever.

It was late, and I'd been bogged down catching up with study considering moving and unpacking and yelling internally had taken up a lot more free time than expected. Naturally, I assumed I was the only one awake. Lily and Leon - I mean Dad - were both old, so I thought that if they stayed up past like, 11, it'd be insane. Earlier in the evening I overheard Lily and Len discussing his schedule for tomorrow which included an early rise for some preppy photo shoot, so I automatically gathered he certainly wouldn't be roaming around the house at half past 12. I mean, there was no point showing up to a photo shoot looking like a zombie, right?

But I was terribly wrong.

I was feeling peckish around midnight, and there was no way I was going to sleep on an empty stomach. It just didn't happen like that. So I made the executive choice to sneak downstairs to the kitchen and _secretly_ raid the fridge.

Yes, I hadn't even been there for a day and I was eating all their food. I'm one of those people.

But technically I _am_ family, so, it wasn't like they could deny me the right of feeding my face whenever I pleased. I live here now. It was going to happen, some way or another.

Anyway, I had found - or, felt, honestly - my way down to the kitchen and decided that a melon jam sandwich would ease my raging hunger until morning. So, using the streetlight outside as my guide, I began preparing my midnight snack in the dark, while mumbling in terrible, broken English the lyrics of _Dancing in the Moonlight_. (It seemed very fitting to the situation, and it was like, one of the only English songs I knew.)

All was going well.

All was going well, until…

I had the terrifying feeling there was someone else in the room.

Now, don't get me wrong - I'm not one to act unreasonably. Most of the time. But tonight I was already on edge, considering I was sneaking around a house that I technically couldn't claim as _my own_, yet, and it was midnight, and I was standing in the kitchen singing in bad Engrish and eating all their food.

Anyway, in my bout of panic, I thought that the other person in the room could be like some super sneaky paparazzi dude who wanted to record me shaking my ass in my Little Miss Moo-Moo pyjamas. So I did the first thing I thought was rational: I grabbed a spoon and swung around to face the unknown.

...Only to obliterate _Len_, of all people.

By obliterate, I mean accidentally swinging out my arm - that was still holding the spoon - into his… uh, silky boxer shorts, giving him the heart-attack of his life over nearly losing his third leg.

I still hadn't made out his face quite clearly in the dim-lit room, but when he'd dropped to his knees hissing a string of colourful words and clutching himself, I knew I had made a Very Bad Mistake. Possibly, the Worst Mistake of All Kinds of Mistakes to Ever Happen.

"Oh God," was all I could say - I mean, what else would you say after hitting a guy accidentally in the nether regions? 'Wow, soft!' or, 'Nice length!'? No. No, no, no. Especially not to my _brother_. Especially not to one of the _most_ _popular_ J-pop singers _out there_.

It all came falling into place, and I felt like throwing myself out of the window and escaping to another country.

What a nice way to get to know Len, right? Right. No. Not a nice way. Bad way. Badbad_bad_ way. Awful way.

"Christ, why don't you give me a freaking _circumcision_ next time?!" he wheezed.

Yikes.

I finally managed to choke out, "I - I - _I'm sorry_. It was an accident. You scared me." When he didn't respond, but rather just lay there on the ground like he'd given up on life, I grabbed my sandwich and ran for it.

So, yeah. I failed. I touched Len's thing and we hadn't even known each other for a day.

(How to Want to Die: Rin Edition. Step 1 - fondle your brother accidentally. Step 2 - die somewhere in a hole because _yikes_.)

If the next 24 hours couldn't get any worse, I ended up sleeping in because of my poor life choices. I had twenty minutes to get ready and arrive at school. _Then_ they decided to break the news that they would have to drop me to school in a limousine - yes, a _limousine_ \- because paparazzi would attack me if I stepped foot outside this place.

I ended up having to carpool with Len.

Who wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Can you drop me off a few blocks away from school?" I asked Tonio, who was driving us today, too.

"Hmm? We've permission to drop you off at your school, Rin - there's no need to worry about that," he replied, completely missing the point of my internal panic.

I laughed nervously, because Len was listening to this conversation, too, and probably thinking, _Why is she so dumb? _"Er, well, I know _that_, but… I kind of have a reputation. Of not existing. And I'd much rather keep that reputation, so arriving to school in a _limousine_ of all things would certainly attract a lot more attention than I want."

Tonio thought for a moment. "Alright, I understand."

I released a breath I didn't realise I had been holding. "Thank you."

He flashed his toothpaste-commercial smile in the rear-view mirror and I suddenly felt very conscious of my teeth. Why did everyone have nice teeth - but me? Why? Even the limousine driver had a smile that could be worth ten million yen. _How_.

We pulled up about a block away from the school, and after checking no one else was around to see, I grabbed my things and ran. Thankfully, no one saw - and if anyone did, they didn't ask. I knew that if Miki saw me, or even _found out_ about this, I'd be dead.

Very dead.

* * *

"Someone nearly sat on me again," was the first thing I told Miki, when she appeared by my side in the courtyard at lunch.

She raised her eyebrows. "_Again?_ Oh no, Rin. Tell me who it was and I'll return the favour."

I scoffed. "It's okay. It was just some first year."

"Ugh, first years. They're so obnoxious. Yesterday one tripped over me and didn't even say sorry," she grumbled, opening up her lunchbox. "I sound like one of those disapproving old people, don't I? 'All these young kids, they don't appreciate how easy it is - when I was their age I was picking grass seeds out of my eyelids trying to play football…'" She trailed off to give me a grin.

Then her eyes fell to my lunch.

Er, yeah, my lunch. I reacted the same way when I opened it. It was pretty amazing - Lily insisted she'd make it for me, but I wasn't expecting like, something that came out of those chef's books that teach you how to make animal-themed bento. The seaweed was even cut into delicate shapes, like a mouth - _how?_

"Well, shit," Miki mumbled. "Speaking of yesterday, how was _your_ yesterday?"

She was obviously referring to how on Earth my lunch came into existence. Even _she_ knew I couldn't cook rice without under-cooking it, let alone… this. Lily even drew my name on a croquette in sauce - knowing me, I wouldn't get past the first character without screwing it up big time.

I licked my lips. "Uh. Well…" I began, thinking of how I would explain it, spare the details that I'm related to a famous person who she would _die_ to meet in real life. "...It was good. It turns out Dad has a girlfriend, and she wanted to make me lunch for some reason, hence this."

"A girlfriend?" Miki echoed. "Is she nice?"

"I… I guess? As good as a step-mu- uh, a potential step-mother could get?" Yikes. I almost slipped.

She nodded slowly. "And your dad? Is he cool?"

"Yeah? I guess. I didn't really get to speak to him as much as Li- um, his girlfriend."

"Oh, I see." She screwed up her face. "That sucks, being stuck with your dad's girlfriend. It would've been pretty awkward."

I snorted. "Believe me," I said, "it _was_."

Miki gave me a wry grin. "So what are the plans for today? More awkward family time?"

"Yeah - oh, and sleep, too." I sighed. "I'm keen to go back to bed."

"Aren't we all," she responded. "Aren't we all."

* * *

After school, it took a good half-an-hour to get Miki to leave me alone before having to find where Tonio had parked. Luckily by the time she left, most other kids had gone home and weren't around to witness me climbing into the limousine.

I could work with this. Yeah. Totally. (Not.)

Lily was home cooking in the kitchen when I arrived. I thought they had a chef? Maybe she likes to cook as a hobby. I don't know.

"Rin, you're home!" she exclaimed when she heard me walk by. "How was your lunch? I've been waiting to hear your reaction all day!"

Shoot. I couldn't escape fast enough.

I glanced around the doorway to look at her. "It was awesome. Thank you."

Lily gave me a wide grin. "Really? Yay! Len doesn't really like it when I give him bento, so I'm glad you like it," she told me. Wow… that sounded kind of sad. Maybe Len is one of those people who thinks bento is just for elementary kids. (Why, though? I mean, its free food.) "Anyway, did you have a good day at school?"

"Yeah," I responded. "It was okay."

She frowned. "_Only_ okay?"

"Yeah. Well, I don't exactly go there to have _fun_."

"Oh. Right. I guess that's true," she mused. "Len came home earlier - he might be napping. I heard about what happened last night…"

Oh no. _Great_. Just great. He'd probably told everyone about what happen. I want to die.

Lily chuckled at my expression. "Oh, don't worry, Rin! It was only an accident, wasn't it? I got quite the laugh out of it." She paused. "You're free to use the kitchen anytime you're hungry, you know? No need to use it in secret. You live here now, after all."

I laughed uncomfortably. "Er, right. Yeah. Sorry. Thank you."

"Do you want to try some cake?" she then asked, glancing over at the oven which had something cooking inside. "It'll be ready in ten minutes. In the meantime I'll make some tea?" She gave me a hopeful smile, and I just couldn't turn her down.

So much for sleeping away my sorrows.

"S-sure…"

Lily clapped her hands. "Yay! Okay, well, I'll let you go get changed and that…" She turned away to prepare some tea, looking as if she'd achieved something miraculous.

Why. Please stop being happy.

"Oh, and Rin?" she called as I skulked off towards my room. "Can you check if Len is awake? He might get grumpy if we don't tell him we're having an afternoon snack."

Eh. Please no.

After dumping my bag on the floor of my room, I made my way over to knock on his door. I still couldn't get used to the spaciousness of this place. It was too big and too fancy for someone as plain and invisible as me.

Before knocking, I had to steady myself for a moment, not exactly keen on looking him in the eye again after recalling last night. I knew things I didn't want to know about him now.

_Breathe. In. Out. He will not bite you. He is a potato. Yes. Len is a potato._

Okay, I decided I should probably knock before he opens the door on me, instead, and sees me doing deep breathing techniques in the bathroom. That would be pretty weird. Honestly, as if I could make him feel _any more_ uncomfortable.

He wasn't taking a nap as Lily had told me. Unfortunately. He gave me a long, weird stare on opening the door that connected his bedroom to our bathroom.

"What's…" He scanned my expression, "...wrong?"

I swallowed. "Uh. Lily said to tell you we're going to eat cake."

"Oh. Okay."

I didn't move.

Len raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"N-nothing," I told him.

He seemed unconvinced.

"Well, I, uh," I began slowly. "Just wanted to say sorry. Again. For hitting you with a spoon. It really was an accident."

He kept staring at me. "...Okay. Is that all?"

I shrugged.

"Well, alright. Whatever. You're forgiven," Len responded with a wave of his hand, eyeing me carefully as if I might try to hit him again. He then paused before closing the door in my face. "But," he added, holding up a finger, "don't think I'll let you live this down." I didn't miss the upward twitch of his lips before he shut his door.

Oh. _Oh_. Well, Len, _two_ can play at that game.

Ha.

Uh. Oh God.

I returned downstairs, wondering whether Len was actually being mean, or just wanting to play around. Who knew? I wouldn't be surprised if he was plotting some evil way to drive me out of the house.

Well, I mean, I _did_ smack him in the crotch after all - then ran away - all on the first night. Maybe he secretly hates me now because of that.

(I sure hope that isn't the case though. I think I would cry if he hated me.)

* * *

_when you try your best but you dont succeed_

why am i so dsjhhdfjfdlashadsld at writing is2g writing gods Help Me please, pleas esave me, _please_. this sucked. idk. this was like a filler chapter or smth to make sure its got a good pace rip. next chapter will be better. i hope. (sweats because i will probably just butcher it again.)

unbeta'd bc i am constantly throwing things at my beta to beta i think nebesa wants to wreck me tbh. perhaps i should consider just making an army of betas for my stories so i can sTOP BEING SO DEMANDING AND DUMB. welp. but unfortunately the rinlen fandom is dead so (smiles through the flames of hell) nvm i will die trying.

so if you see yucky mistakes come at me. come at me so hard wreck me.

also thank you for almost 30 reviews? im sorry im yet again a daily disappointment. this story is the bane of my existence, alongside like caligo and bad sister. all of them are the bane of my existence. i h8

i would like to update two more stories (fleurs du mal and first chapter of this new story im working out that im 99.99999% sure no one will like because It Is Shit) before i escape to Japan for nearly a month but alas i dont know whether that is entirely plausible considering im slow af and trying to beta stories for people and not keep them waiting (expect im failing v badly at that pls stab me). maybe a miracle will happen. maybe the writing gods will bless me with himi's/Amaryne's writing skills but as far as im concerned im going straight to the deepest depths of hell. rest in rip :'''''''')

i will see u when i see u


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